We don't like being cold. It is an uncomfortable situation that we tend to run away from and that we normally associate with health problems such as colds, chilblains or eczema. But what if being cold from time to time and in a controlled way benefits us? What if it helped us lose weight? As Luis Gallego, an orthopedic and sports surgeon, explains to CuídatePlus, "the benefits of cold therapies are many."
When we are exposed to cold, explains Manuel Sánchez Laso, family doctor at the Sanitas Alcobendas Medical Center in Madrid, "our body contains several defense mechanisms in order to increase our temperature." The hypothalamus, which is the gland of the brain and acts as the body's thermometer, "is responsible for stimulating a series of reactions to keep the vital organs of the body active until we can get warm. Its main function is to keep warm at all costs , even sacrificing a limb in an exaggerated situation.For this reason, sometimes we feel tingling in the hands and feet, this is because the body is trying to keep the blood warm in the center of our body and restricting the supply to the extremities".
In cases of excessive cold, "the blood flow is reduced, so there is a lack of warm blood that can cause the tissues to completely freeze and rupture."
Exposure to cold therapies “produces adaptive thermogenesis in our bodies”, that is, “physiological changes aimed at maintaining our body temperature so that it works properly”. On the one hand, "vasoconstriction of the skin in the extremities occurs to isolate our organs from the outside and that is why we have pain in our fingers when we are in cold environments and we shiver, by producing involuntary muscle contractions we generate heat". But in addition, "we are able to develop another method of thermogenesis that is really beneficial for our metabolic system through which we activate brown fat deposits."
The amount of brown fat is highly variable. According to Gallego, “it is more abundant in women than in men, it increases when we expose the body to cold, and it has the ability to produce heat through a protein called UCP-1, which causes the mitochondria of its cells to dissipate energy in the form of heat instead of storing energy in the form of ATP (adenosine triphosphate).
Being highly vascularized, comments the expert, “brown fat has a great capacity for heat production, burning a large amount of energy.
Thus, controlled cold can:
As for the joints, adds Sánchez-Laso, "in case of acute inflammation (this means that the joint is red and inflamed) cold relieves pain, congestion and has an anti-inflammatory effect".
When is cold indicated?
In Gallego's opinion, the cold would not only be indicated for all healthy people but "should be incorporated into our daily life as a healthy habit", such as exercising daily or eating healthy.
Specifically, “it is very beneficial in athletes, due to its anti-inflammatory effect; in obese patients, due to its ability to “burn fat” through the hormone adiponectin, and in diabetic patients, due to its effect on glycemic control”.
In Sánchez-Laso's opinion, the cold would be indicated, above all, "for those people who need to lower their body temperature so that physiological changes can occur." This type of treatment is called cryotherapy and provides three types of effects:
- hemodynamic effects. Delays the appearance of bruises in case of muscle injury and reduces blood flow.
- Anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects. A reduction in metabolism produces a smaller number of vasoactive substances, which achieves a decrease in the inflammatory response, thus reducing both the edema and the existing inflammation.
- neuromuscular effects. This increases blood viscosity, that is, it reduces metabolism and nerve conduction speed, which reduces the pain caused by the injury.
In cases in which cold therapy would not be recommended in general, it would be in pregnant women or in patients with epilepsy, as well as in people with cardiovascular problems, in the latter case a cardiologist should be consulted first. It is also not recommended for "those who suffer from arteriosclerosis, dermatological lesions, hypersensitivity to cold, serious cardiovascular diseases or peripheral vascular diseases should not practice this type of therapy", indicates Sánchez-Laso.
Do sports in the cold
Many athletes prefer to run in cold or low temperatures because they believe that this can provide them with more benefits than running in the heat. What is true in here? According to Gallego, yes “it is beneficial to do sports at low temperatures in the sense that it is a simple way to adapt our body to the cold and to increase the deposits of brown fat in our body”. Exercising in a cold environment “reduces the inflammation observed in a warmer temperature environment and, in general, exposing the body to situations of controlled stress, such as cold, triggers an adaptive compensatory response that benefits us. This is called hormesis.
In addition, as Alfonso Valderrey, bluaU coach, comments, the cold "increases energy expenditure, since during winter the body needs more effort to maintain a balanced temperature, so training is easier to do during this time of year than in summer". On the other hand, "it causes an increase in the viscosity of the muscles, which increases the risk of injury. Running or playing sports during the winter ensures the daily quota of Vitamin D and improves the sense of humor since sports activity releases endorphins that help improve mood.
Another reason why sports are practiced in the cold is to prevent injuries and this is because of its anti-inflammatory effect. In addition to this benefit, it is important to know that "exposure to cold regulates the release of enzymes such as lactate dehydrogenase and creatine kinase related to muscle damage," says Gallego.
According to Valderry, "this is why professionals advise it even though there is no injury. In fact, some studies even compare its effect with that of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs."
In addition, according to the personal trainer, "it improves our blood circulation. The fact of activating and accelerating our circulation has several benefits. The bloodstream helps the lymphatic system to recycle all the dead cells that have occurred after training with a heavy load. Likewise, the recovery processes, in general, are accelerated when that circulation is accelerated.Very in line with this, it also helps to regenerate the micro-tears produced in the muscle tissue after a strength or quality training, such as, for example, the short series. All metabolic waste is better eliminated by the acceleration of blood circulation."
On the other hand, "it reduces pain, swelling and muscle cramps. That analgesic effect that ice has will help us, both with the negative metabolic processes that will be attenuated, and with the sensation and feeling of pain itself, which should calm down ".
"It lowers the risk of future injuries and our performance in subsequent workouts may improve. If we speed up and improve recovery, we're probably going to be more confident in a workout we have, say, 48 hours later than if we don't."
Another use in athletes is, at a general level and after a great physical effort, "to perform immersions in ice water to reduce inflammation throughout the body. If this is preceded by breathing techniques before the application of cold water (such as controlled apneas in the Wim Hof method), the anti-inflammatory results can be excellent”.
where is the cold limit
The idea of cold therapy "is to increase metabolism to maintain body temperature at 37ºC." In an ice water bath, for example, when your body temperature (which is between 36 and 37ºC) drops to 35ºC, you begin to tremble and there is lack of coordination and clumsiness of movement. Breathing and heart rate accelerate," says Gallego.
As he warns, "the temperature should not be lowered any further, because at 32ºC the chills become violent and the limbs and face take on a bluish color, since the blood is destined to heat the internal organs. Breathing and heart rate are They slow down, irrational behavior and slow thinking occur. At 30ºC, multi-organ failure and death occur."
Tips before you start
Before beginning to include cold therapies in healthy habits, we must bear in mind that "the benefits will be greater as we increase our ability to adapt to it, through gradual exposure to cold training."
A practical tip to start doing it is with a gesture as simple as "finishing the hot shower with cold water for about 30 seconds," says Gallego. Also “we can occasionally turn off the heat in our house, lower the thermostat in our house or take short walks with little clothing in winter”. In this way it will be done little by little. “When we get used to it, we can try soaking in cold water or ice baths,” he advises.
But, if we want to take advantage of the maximum anti-inflammatory and regulating benefits of the vegetative nervous system from cold, "the ideal would be to combine cold therapy with breathing techniques (the Wim Hof method is easy to apply and has many tutorials), with This can increase metabolism up to 300% to maintain constant body temperature at 37ºC”.
Throughout the process it is important to know when to stop and for that it is important to pay attention to certain signals. So, in general, "when you're exposed to the cold and you start to feel shivering and short of breath, it's best to stop forcing the exposure and start over gradually," he concludes.
Studies that speak of the cold
Regarding the benefits of cold on the body and cold therapies, it must be said that there are scientific studies that support it.
The best known is the study Voluntary activation of the sympathetic nervous system and attenuation of the innate immune response in humans, carried out by researchers at the Radboud University Medical Center in the Netherlands, which shows the voluntary activation of the sympathetic nervous system through from cold results in the release of epinephrine and thus suppression of the innate immune response in humans in vivo. These results could have important implications for the treatment of a variety of conditions associated with excessive or persistent inflammation.
